Tender Blood
by Spunky Kitten
Summary: The Apocalypse has hit. Meet a zombie who only remembers that his name is Zack and the girl with dead eyes who suddenly changes his view of the world and who he is.
1. What's In Your Head?

**This came to me in my Story Dev class and I couldn't get it out of my head. So I'm writing it now because I need to get rid of the itch. I hope you enjoy this, probably overused, little story.  
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 **Enjoy!**

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 _I don't remember anything before all this shit went down. I have a name; well, as much as I remember of it anyway. It's Zack. I think my real name was longer; started with an "eye" or something like that. I don't remember much of my life either. But I got some nasty burns that I cover up with some bandages that I find laying around. It's a miracle when I can find clean ones, and I sure as shit ain't sharing._

 _I like my hoodie. I don't know how long I've had it, but it's some comfy shit. It's got a lot of dried blood of it, though. I like to think I was a pure-blooded killer before. Was? I still am. There's nothing I love more than seeing those fuckers' eyes filled with fear and despair before I take a good chunk outta them._

 _Oh yeah. And this is the important shit, so pay attention. I'm dead. That guy in the corner scratching his ear off; dead. That lady banging her messed up face against the wall; very dead. That dude just laying on the floor that I stepped on back there; dead as dirt. I get bored when there ain't a fresh kill around, so I look at all the people like me in this overcrowded place and come up with stories for them. That guy was probably mopping vomit off the floor and is still doing it now, but with chunks of rotted guts. That lady was probably one of those hooker cake-faces that hung out in those alleys. And that guy…eh, he's deader than dead now, so what does it matter?_

 _I've heard the little wastes of flesh call us Walkers. Damn, they could've come up with something more original. If I could actually use my voice for ten goddamn seconds, I'd be telling them that along with as many colorful words as I can think of. Zombie apocalypse, my left ass cheek. This, not being able to use my damn voice, is hell enough._

 _But there's not just the Walkers. I call the little shits that hang around Biters. They aren't even people anymore. They just hop onto fresh meat whether it drags itself along like a welcome mat and chow down. They don't really attack Walkers. We're just sacks of rotten flesh to them; not edible. Losers. I do whatever it takes to survive. I have a feeling I had to eat trash or something before, just so I wouldn't be hungry. That's a lot better than becoming one of those fuckers. I saw it happen once. The guy went without food for a long time and slowly turned into a Biter because of it._

 _Now look at me. I don't know my age, my parents, my hometown, or even how I got these damn burns. Something likes to tell me it's better that I don't. Frankly, I don't give a shit anymore. I'm a fucking zombie that can't run for shit and can only grunt instead of cuss everyone in this crappy area out the way I really, really want to._

 _I'm a monster; plain and simple. Not like anyone's gonna see me as anything different._

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Rachel double-checked everything to make sure she was prepared. She made sure she had enough bullets in her handgun and nodded when she got satisfactory results. Her ocean blue eyes scanned the camp to check which materials would be top priority for this week's scavenge. Once she finished securing the gun to its holster, she stood up from her seat on a crate, only to be pushed down into the dirt.

"Where do you think you're going, dolly?" a young man about two years older than her sneered. "You'll be the first one to get eaten! Ha! With those boring eyes, you'll like dying, won't you?"

The man beside him snickered, leaning down to get up in Rachel's face. "Heh. With that dull face, they'll probably think she's one of them! And they'd be right! Might as well be a zombie, with how emotionless you are!"

They continued to throw jabs at her, but the blonde ignored them. Instead, she put her long blond her up into a high ponytail, so it would slightly rise above her mid-back. She adjusted her bloodstained denim jacket, smoothed out her navy-blue tank top, and dusted the dirt off her black pants. She checked the straps on her black combat boots one more time, to make sure they were secure. Continuing to ignore the boys, Rachel wedged her way around and stepped into the truck that was taking passengers to the next scavenging location.

The engine roared to life and the vehicle set off after a few of the crew members shut the heavy doors. Rachel went over the destination's blueprints in her head, noting the next scavenging site was an abandoned one floor school building. With a few calculated moves, she could get the right supplies.

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 **So,** **as you guessed, this is a Zombie AU. It'll have some scenes from Warm Bodies, but only ones I remember aka ones that got a lot of attention. I don't remember the whole movie, and I'm kinda glad I don't. I'll be using that freedom to divert from the Warm Bodies plot and make a more original story.**

 **One more thing! The titles of the chapters are song lyrics from some of the songs I'm listening to while writing this story.**

 **The title comes from the song "Zombie by Bad Wolves"**


	2. Find My Place Among The Ashes

Zack wasn't one to follow a crowd. He preferred to mind his own business and do his own thing. But for the sake of survival, he followed. He noticed how some of the others like him had a stronger sense of awareness to things. Wherever they went, food was always there. And so, wherever they went, Zack and the others followed. They didn't really mind from the looks of it. It was only when they reached their destination that the free-for-all began.

The dark-haired zombie looked ahead to see a small building. No extras floors meant no stairs. No stairs meant easier hunting. _It's such a drag to hull your weak zombie ass upstairs. It gives those shits enough time to shoot you dead. Thank fuck. Maybe I can get something to eat. Bonus if I get to see them scared for their lives instead of acting tough like some kind of fucking rebel._

Zack was one of the first to get into the building. It was all really new to him. Nothing in his blurry memories could tell him what this place was or what it was used for. Then again, he didn't particularly care. Empty halls with long lines of tiny metal doors and small, trashed rooms weren't super interesting to him. He just wanted some food; and fast.

Suddenly, a smell hit him. This smell was definitely different than all the other human meals he's come across. It smelled…sweet…and fresh. But not the kind of fresh that said "newly slaughtered." It was a different kind of fresh. It was like the pre-Apocalypse sky, blue and clear. It was like clean water from a calm spring. The sweet scent took over his senses, leading him down a path he wasn't aware he was taking. His head cleared when he heard a gunshot that was way too close for comfort. _At least I can have some fun_ , he thought, pulling out his knife from the pocket of his red, slightly torn jeans.

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Rachel aimed her gun and shot with deadly accuracy. Her gaze didn't waver when she instantly turned around to shoot another Walker. Ducking behind a lab table, she took the opportunity to swiftly take out another cartridge from her bag and reload her gun. The blonde could hear the Walkers getting closer. She heard them tear into the flesh and organs of her now-deceased raid members. Anyone who saw her now would be shocked she wasn't crying or screaming in rage, running out to avenge the fallen. No one could say she didn't care at all. She just had lower empathy levels than most. In the Apocalypse, maybe that was a perk.

"Rachel," she heard someone whisper as they ducked behind the table with her. "You're safe!" Edward Mason smiled happily at her as he wiped some blood off his cheek with his crimson scarf, offering it to her afterward.

"Yeah," the girl bluntly replied while denying the scarf, "I know." She patted her black bag that was strapped to the belt she wore. "I found some supplies in the nurse's office. I already looked through the art room. This science lab should have some stuff too."

"You're amazing, Rachel," Eddie dreamily sighed. He swung his metal bat around playfully. "Together, we'll definitely take out every Walker and live a happy life." He suddenly yelped when he heard glass breaking followed by screaming. "B-but we need to make it out of here first!"

The redhead stood up, combat ready. The blonde followed, raising her gun. The Walkers came through in a herd, a few of the surviving raid party members running away from them. Eddie rushed out into the fray, swinging his metal bat to bash in the Walkers' heads. He jumped a safe distance away when they attacked. Unfortunately, the Walkers could see just as easily in the dark, so his best advantage point wasn't an option. Nonetheless, his swiftness made up for that, quickly disposing of zombie after zombie, blood splattering on his black, worn overalls. He used his thick brown boots to stomp the heads of any Walker that was unfortunate enough to fall on the floor near him. Bit of rotting brains splattered on the dirty tile floors.

Rachel made her own work of the situation. She shot zombies down, one by one. She sometimes got two with one bullet, since the flesh of one was so tender the bullet blasted through the body and hit the one just behind it. The blue-eyed girl took no time to watch as some of the Walkers shifted their focus from the survivors to the dead Walkers with their brains still intact. Their desperation for their next meal outweighed the hunt. Rachel took the opportunity to change hiding locations, staying on her toes so she couldn't be taken by surprise.

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Zack pounced the unsuspecting human that was hiding behind a big-ass table. He grinned when the guy started whimpering, desperately flailing to save his life. _Not today, fucker_. Zack harshly bit down on the guy's head, feeling the flesh tear under his teeth. The dark-haired zombie growled when he hit skull, so he used his knife to stab through the bone. _Chow time!_ With the brains finally exposed, Zack licked his lips before going down on his fresh meal. He felt the brains gush in his mouth. One swallow and suddenly his head was flooded with memories of colorful lights, huge pine trees, cheery music, and the back of a girl's head. She was blonde, wearing a knee-length blue dress with thick black tights, bundled up in a solid pink knit hat and a matching puffy coat. Whoever he killed sure liked to pick on this girl, pushing her into a pile of white, powdery stuff.

Zack was forced back to reality when he heard a round of gunshots nearby. He looked around from his position and was immediately invaded with that sweet scent from before. Long blonde hair was the first thing his bi-colored eyes landed on. He looked up into her deep blue eyes but was mildly annoyed by what he saw. They were like a doll's, lifeless and quiet. There was no emotion behind them, even as she took out the last Walker besides him in the area, who was trying to feed on her fallen party member. The scent grew stronger as she moved her hair out of her eyes and surveyed the area before removing the cartridge from her gun to see that it was empty. _Now's my chance!_ Zack leapt out as much as he could to take her by surprise, hopefully get those boring eyes to show some emotion.

Rachel heard footsteps break the few minutes of silence. She whirled around to see one last zombie. She wanted to reach for her gun, but she had no time to refill it. The cartridge laid helplessly on the floor while she stood straight, watching the zombie move closer. His bi-colored eyes caught her attention first. Zombie eyes were different that normal eyes, the pupils turned to slits much like a cat's eyes. One of his eyes was incredibly dilated, making it appear to be a sort of brown color. But the other was fully contracted, glowing molten gold in the dim lighting of the science lab. He was also covered in bandages from a reason she couldn't assess. From the looks of it, this zombie was going to kill her with the knife in his hand first. In retrospect, that wasn't the worst way to go. Living and dying weren't exactly high on her priorities list. But to know she would be killed in a more humane way, to say the least, wasn't so bad. And there she stood, ready for death.

Zack moved closer, his grip on his knife tightening as much as his weakened muscles could. Just as he pulled his arm upward to get into stabbing position, a tearing sound followed by a thud caused him to stop. His arm, which had been gripping the knife, dislodged from his elbow and fell to the floor. _Well, shit_.

The blonde girl looked at the ground in between them in mild surprise, although it was arguably tame for something like this happening right in front of her. Slowly, she bent down and kneeled on the floor. She carefully reached out and took the arm into her hands.

"H…H-Hey!" _What the fuck do you think yer doing_ , he wanted to shout, but it just came out as a bunch of babble.

The girl quietly reached into her bag and pulled out a needle and some red thread. "I can fix it," she offered in her quiet, monotone voice, "if you want."

Zack took a little step back in shock, his still-attached arm moving in front of his chest, as if that would defend him from this pipsqueak who just offered to sew a zombie's fucking arm back on. He wanted to puke, but he didn't have the literal guts to do that anymore. They were probably so rotten, he'd end up just spewing dirt.

Rachel sat down and carefully proceed to loop the red thread through the needle's eyes, leaving Zack in a state of shock. _This bitch is fucking serious!_ He wanted to just slash her and walk away. But he was short an arm and a knife, so that plan was out. Reluctantly, Zack sat down and extended his stubby arm to her. The blonde rolled up the sleeve to reveal the site of the tear and held the parts together as best she could. Zack groaned loudly when the needle pierced his skin.

"Sorry," Rachel whispered, "I thought that wouldn't bother you." Zack only growled at her in response. "I'll try to be more careful."

The zombie looked away as the girl went back to sewing his arm back on. He let his gaze wander anywhere else, keeping a lookout for any sudden intruders. _I'm useless as shit if I can't hold my knife_. Zack took a glance at the girl in front of him, taking a whiff of the sweet scent from earlier. Now that he was up close, he could definitely tell it was coming from her. There was no one else around. He didn't understand why she smelled so sweet either. Her cheek had a large smear of fresh blood on it and dried blood dotted her jacket. Her hair, done up in a ponytail wasn't totally gross. It looked clean despite just getting out of a really bloody fight. She was shorter than him, though he didn't pay attention to just how short she was compared to him. And her eyes… Her eyes were just so…

"B…Boring…" he accidentally groaned out loud. His eyes widened and her looked at the girl to see her looking back at him. She must've heard it too. She tilted her head, confused. Zack lifted his good arm and pointed a finger to her face. "E…Eyes…"

"My eyes are boring?" she asked, lifting her slightly calloused fingers up to her face. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Honestly, whether I live or die just doesn't matter to me. Maybe…that's why I don't feel afraid of you." Zack gaped at her. Not afraid of him?! He tried to morph his expression into a sinister snarl, but the blonde just shook her head. "Changing your expression won't make that big of a difference." She snapped off the thread, nodded to herself after assessing her work, and then rolled the sleeve back down. "All done."

The dark-haired zombie blinked and moved his arm to test it out. It was like it never fell off! She was pretty handy at sewing; he'd give her that much. Rachel packed away the needle and thread, and then stood up without taking her eyes off Zack.

"So," she stated in her monotone voice, "I should get going. Unless…you're going to kill me now."

Zack grunted and lifted his mended arm before slowly shaking his head. _Ya helped me out, so I'd feel shitty if I killed ya_.

"Oh," Rachel replied, a hint of disappointment melding into her tone. "Okay."

"Za—" the zombie suddenly shouted, coming out more like a choke. "Za…Za…" He continued to choke out that single syllable, forcing his tongue to operate properly. Rachel stood still and stared at him, waiting patiently for his words. "Za…Zack," he finally forced out.

"Zack? Is that your name?" she asked, tilting her head. He nodded. "My name is Rachel; Rachel Gardner."

"R…R…Ray," Zack groaned. "Ray," he said again. _That's a lot easier to get out. I'll stick with Ray_.

"Close enough," Rachel said, looking up at him.

His eyes widened when he saw a tiny smile on her face, which seemed to liven up her blue eyes, if only by a bit. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut for some reason, but not hard enough to double over. His chest tightened and thumped like a steady beat. Was he sick? Did zombies even get sick?

"Uh oh," the blonde suddenly spoke, ducking under the closest window.

Zack moved to see what she was peeking at through the dirty glass and saw a horde of zombies in the general area. It wasn't a problem for him, but Ray would die if she went out there by herself. It didn't smell like any of the other humans she came here with were in the area. _Geez, I gotta do everything around here!_ Zack wiped the blood off his knife with his bandaged hand before pocketing it. He walked over to Ray and smeared the blood on her face. She gasped in surprise but otherwise showed no resistance.

"Look…dead…" Zack commanded and began walking out. _Deader than usual anyway_. _She won't be lying; just letting those crappy corpses see what they wanna see_. Rachel followed behind him, keeping pace with him, but going ahead at times. Before she made it out the school's main door, he extended his arm, so she'd stop, which she did. "S…Slower…" The blonde simply nodded, slowing down her pace as she followed behind Zack. She even slumped her posture to better blend in. "Not…bad…R-Ray." He may be dumb as a rock, but his survival instincts were always right. He and Ray walked through the crowd of zombies like it was a regular Tuesday.

Rachel followed closely to Zack, the stench of death and decay permeating the air. He was helping her get through a horde of zombies when he could've just left her for dead or killed her himself. But he chose to help her get to safety. Was this in return for sewing his arm back on? Whatever the reason, she felt indebted to him. He was saving her life when she told him that she wasn't bothered by dying. She subtly tugged on his sleeve. He got the message because he glanced her way with his golden eye.

"Thanks," she whispered, to which Zack grunted. But she could tell that grunt was different than the sound he made when he was angry. Nonchalant maybe? "I know a place," she whispered, "We'll be safe for a while." Keeping up her walking dead imitation, Rachel slowly but firmly guided her zombie companion away from the direction the others were moving towards, heading off in a new direction. For now, Zack figured it was better to trust her. Gun or no gun, he didn't exactly feel threatened by a girl who only reached his chin if she stood on her tiptoes.

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 **I didn't expect to write this much! Like I said, there's scenes from Warm Bodies that really inspired me. R meeting Julie was one of them. But those characters and the way the scene plays out don't really match Zack and Rachel's personalities too well, so I did something a little different. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Chapter title comes from "Lithium by Evanescence"**


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